not entirely irregular. Talbot (1954) showed 

 that no cycles of abundance were indicated by 

 available Hudson River data. In the present 

 study, available statistics on the shad catch 



for the entire Atlantic coast, and for individ- 

 ual States, were examined to see whether a 

 regular pattern of natural fluctuation had 

 occurred; none was found. 



REHABILITATION AND MANAGEMENT 



To obtain sustained yields in the shad fish- 

 ery, factors affecting abundance must be de- 

 termined and in turn manipulated so that the 

 population may increase to the optimum size. 

 Studies on management of fishery resources 

 have indicated that the economics of the fish- 

 ery also must be considered in any plan to 

 obtain maximum yields. It appears that the 

 maxinnum sustained yield may not offer the 

 maximum economic yield and that the best 

 management of the resource probably can be 

 accomplished by a compromise between these 

 interests (Graham, 1956; Crutchfield, I960). 



Methods used to rehabilitate and manage 

 shad are artificial propagation, improving 

 passage of fish over barriers, and regulations 

 of the fishery. In addition, a program of pol- 

 lution control has been adopted by most States, 

 and this control may influence abundance. 



HATCHERIES 



The systematic development and extension 

 of the technique of shad culture were under- 

 taken to test the value of artificial propagation 

 in maintaining an important fishery that was 

 being rapidly depleted (Brice, 1898; Leach, 

 1925). As early as 1848, eggs were artificially 

 taken and fertilized. Rearing experiments 

 were undertaken in the Connecticut River area 

 in 1867 and later in the Potomac with encour- 

 aging results. The attention of many States 

 was attracted to the work, and in 1872 it was 

 taken up by the Federal Government. Experi- 

 ments were conducted with various kinds of 

 floating boxes and jars for hatching, and in 

 1882 the McDonald universal hatching jar was 

 adopted as standard equipment. Prior to 1872 

 deposits of a few thousand fry were made in 

 as many different streams as possible, but by 

 1880 shad culture was established on a large 

 scale, and it was possible to ship and plant 

 several hundred thousand. From 1872 to 1880, 

 97,471,700 shad fry were planted in streanns, 

 beginning with 850,000 in 1872; in 1880, 

 26,626,000, were distributed. Federal shad- 

 culture was centered in the Chesapeake and 

 Delaware Bays, and State commissions from 

 Massachusetts to South Carolina operated 

 hatcheries. Every river on the Atlantic coast 

 from Massachusetts southward was examined 

 by agents of State commissions, the Federal 

 Government, or both to determine the natural 

 spawning grounds of shad. Hatcheries were 

 located on nearly every stream at one time or 

 another, and the Bureau of Commercial Fish- 



eries and its predecessors followed a policy 

 of stocking shad fry regularly in important 

 streams of the Atlantic seaboard. 



The hatchery methods were very simple. In 

 advance of the spawning season, fishermen 

 operating within a reasonable distance of the 

 hatchery were provided with pans and other 

 necessary equipment to take and care for the 

 eggs. When females in spawning condition 

 were caught, ripe eggs were stripped into 

 pans. After milt was stripped from ripe nnales, 

 water was added, and the pan was given a slow 

 rotary motion for thorough mixing of the sex 

 products. After this mixing, the eggs were 

 washed and held in water until the end of the 

 day's fishing, and then delivered to the hatch- 

 ery. After the eggs had been in the hatchery for 

 48 hours (at the expiration of which time mor- 

 tality has practically ceased), all good eggs 

 remaining were placed in hatching jars. After 

 hatching, the young passed from the jars by 

 an overflow spout to collection tanks, from 

 which they were distributed to the streams. 

 The time from egg collection to fry distribu- 

 tion was usually 5 to 10 days. 



Leach (1925) reported on the difficulties of 

 large-scale hatchery operations. Ripe fish 

 seldom could be found except from 4 to 10 

 p.m. Fish taken earlier were not sufficiently 

 ripe for stripping, and those taken later us- 

 ually were spent. As a rule, the best eggs 

 were secured from fish caught by gill nets. 

 This gear, most effective at night, customarily 

 was lifted during the last stages of the ebb 

 tide and the beginning of the flood. Hence, 

 even though other conditions may have been 

 favorable, eggs were obtained only when the 

 proper stage of tide coincided with the spawn- 

 ing hours of the fish. The scarcity of male fish 

 toward the end of the season often terminated 

 operations when eggs were plentiful. Fry in 

 transit had to be kept in containers with 

 smooth surfaces. About 2,000 to 3,000 were 

 allowed to a gallon of water, and the water in 

 the vessels had to be well aerated and kept at 

 58° to 65°F. 



Over a period of about 60 yr., the Federal 

 Government planted shad in most of the Atlan- 

 tic coast rivers, but the results did not justify 

 continuing the work. Despite hatchery opera- 

 tions, the runs declined. Consequently, all 

 shipments of eggs and fry to areas outside the 

 location of hatcheries were ended, and all fry 

 were returned to local spawning grounds. 

 Federal operation of shad hatcheries generally 

 was curtailed in 1935 and ceased entirely in 

 1950 when the Fort Belvoir hatchery was 



93 



